[2] The game takes place in 1987,[3] and its aesthetics are heavily based on 1980s nostalgia, including neon color palettes and a wood paneled environment.

[7] Players take the role of Forrest Nash (Josh Cowdery),[8] a formerly popular DJ and radio host from Chicago who relocated to the small town of Gallows Creek after his career declined.

[9] Forrest must become an impromptu dispatcher when The Whistling Man, a serial killer, returns to terrorize the town thirty years after his supposed death.

[11][12] Aaron Riccio of Slant Magazine described its mechanics as "sort of reverse escape room where you provide the vital hints to help others get out alive.

[5] Reyna Cervantes of Bloody Disgusting praised the game's use of the slasher genre, comparing it favorably to horror films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.